France

When 17th-century finance minister Nicolas Fouquet set about building his château in what’s now the Paris suburbs, he spared no expense. He hired the best architect of the day, Louis Le Vau, to build the best money could buy. Painter Charles Le Brun and landscape architect André le Nôtre were tapped as well. And then Fouquet hosted a lavish housewarming party … his mistake.

A narrow cobblestone pedestrian street with cafés, shops, and a glorious open-air market, La Mouffe feels like coming home to me, a place to mingle with the locals. Street musicians serenade diners on weekend nights. Specialty shops spill over with cheeses, wines, produce, and other kinds of ooh-la-la. Ernest Hemingway described this scene in A Moveable Feast: "That wonderful narrow crowded market street."